A Sega Saturn Success Story - by Dan "The Mega" Driver

The Sega Saturn has always been close to the hearts of us here at the SEGAGuys.
In this video, Dan "The Mega" Driver reflects on his own personal journey with the console and why it will always be a success in his eyes.
Inspired by the "Change the Narrative" video and campaign, lets stop talking about what went wrong and start focussing on why the Saturn is an amazing video game console!
This video features footage of over 70 Saturn games (and 2 Master System and a Mega Drive game) captured from real hardware via OSSC.
Footage of the Saturn and PlayStation featuring Destruction Derby, Sega Rally and Virtua Fighterfrom UK TV Show Bad Influence also features alongside each consoles launch commercial.

[@dragaoastro69]

The Saturn is simply something special.

[@clark6798]

About time the Saturn got more respect. Still my favourite console after all these years.

[@Laserdreamz]

This one really touches a nerve, I felt like I was the only person keeping the UK Sega Saturn alive in its last days, great to hear about others with a similar tale. I'll never beat the days of bringing home Burning Rangers, PDZ, Steep Slope Sliders etc, the best gaming days of my life.

[@abcmaya]

I notice many of the people who bought the Saturn had a lot of fun with the system and never regretted their decision. While I who very much enjoyed playing my PS1 do regret not buying the Saturn. I feel that I really missed out.

[@sitrep123able]

I was a playstation guy. Missed out on the Saturn due to money reasons. It's beautiful to hear the experience you had with the Saturn back then was just as magical as what I had with PS1 with ff7, granturismo, Tekken and metal gear❤❤❤❤

[@roberto1519]

My older brother was into video games since the beginning and my third brother and I were lucky because we experienced from the NES/SMS/MD/SNES and then the Saturn as kids/teens who couldn't afford their own stuff. We were all into arcades as well and I still remember booting up King of Fighters '96, '97, MSH and Metal Slug at home, we finally, finally had the arcade at home, it took some time for us to actually get used to having true arcade games in our TVs, really. At the same time, my brother started bringing new games, Tomb Raider and Resident Evil were so unique, each title being groundbreaking in their own right. We also played Toshinden Remix, Dead or Alive, Fighters Megamix, Worldwide Soccer '97-'98, then we also started branching out to other genres, we begun playing single player games such as Mystaria, Dragon Force, Shining Force III, Soviet Strike, Crimewave, Tryrush Deppy, Rayman, Pandemonium, Croc, Alien Trilogy, Duke Nukem 3D, Hexen, Mega Man X4, the list goes on and on and I could talk quite a lot, not forgetting later titles such as X-Men vs SF, MSH vs SF and SFZ3, Bulk Slash, Burning Rangers, Grandia etc, etc. The Saturn was THE console of many firsts for us at that time and it was the right choice, even though I remember many sequels only being released on the PS1 from 1998 onwards, magazines almost didn't mention the Saturn anymore, it saddened me a lot, even though I was a 14-15yo teenager it felt almost like betrayal, I wanted the sequels to Croc, Gex, Pandemonium, Resident Evil and Tomb Raider, King of Fighters and more for the Saturn. I think my older brother bought the PS1 around 1999 and while we held on to the Saturn for years after that, if we wanted to play new games, they were on the PS1. Personally, and maybe this is because I played the Saturn during an important part of my child to teen development, I think this console is the most influential of all. It's the console which inspired me to learn how to draw, learn Japanese and more. Funny thing, though, I'm sure I played more Sonic on the Saturn than on any other console, from Sonic Jam to Sonic R, I really never missed Sonic on the console, at all. One thing, if I could dream, it would had been amazing if we got Shenmue on the Saturn, even if the Dreamcast received the real deal, I still think the Saturn should have its own version. And while I love Burning Rangers, I strongly believe that an updated version for the Dreamcast would had been killer.

[@derekbuckler9888]

Well I have news for you Roberto, it was a betrayal. Sony had lots of people, game magazines, and developers in their proverbial pockets. Not to mention the favoritism, and bias against the Saturn as well. Some things never change, and Sony certainly hasn't. Believe me, we all feel the same way

[@MGForums]

@@derekbuckler9888 I've been saying that since the begining, $ony's "marketing" was the only reason the PS1 did so well. I'll admit that games like Toshinden and Destruction Derby LOOKED amazing but the truth is they played like dog sh*t. The people buying PS1's didn't know any better 'cos most of them weren't even gamers. Wipeout was pretty amazing though and the Saturn version was decent enough but that's because Psygnosis was a great development studio. Otherwise the first wave of games for PS1 were pretty lame in the playability department.

[@aceassn716]

Sony was betrayed by nintendo, tried to partner up with Sega… When neither cared to join forces Sony beat them both at their own game

[@roberto1519]

​@@derekbuckler9888 Yes, I remember there's evidence of that and it's all how business works. Heck from the Famicom/NES days, the SMS suffered a lot from Nintendo's harsh demands from third parties. All in all, we could blame Sony for the Saturn not receiving FFVII, RE2/RE3, Tomb Raider 2 and 3 and so on, but there's also SEGA themselves who mismanaged their own business, failing to secure third party exclusivity for the Saturn after the big hit that was the Mega Drive worldwide. In any case, we must recognize that Sony did with the PS1 almost everything right and the console broke records in sales for many reasons. It's a behemoth. Does this mean the Saturn was a lesser console? Not at all, but it surely never reached its full potential, far from it.

[@roberto1519]

​​ @aceassn716 They did, and they had to, Sony wasn't good at creating games, they basically had to rely on third parties and honestly, had SEGA done the same, they could have been the first. So what Sony did was securing Tomb Raider II and many other sequels and exclusives to their machine. Now, imagine if on top of their game, SEGA went into soft houses such as Konami, Square, Enix, Capcom, Sunsoft and more closing deals with them so they would profit much more from releasing exclusives for the upcoming Saturn, in a way that no Sony, Nintendo, 3DO or Atari could even touch them. SEGA thought they could manage the next generation, but let's consider that Sony's weakness is what pushed them to, conscious of it or not, to closing deals with the best soft houses, bringing many exclusives to them. I wonder if the Saturn ended up getting FFVII, RE2, TR2, MGS and more, history would be different for these companies and the Saturn would probably be supported up to 2001, leaving the N64 at third place. If what made the PS1 the behemoth it became was good games, many sequels and exclusives, this is exactly what SEGA failed to do, it's as simple as that, we can't blame Sony, they did the right thing and SEGA was blind in some aspects.

[@carlstokes7321]

Its astonishing how much this story mirrors my own. Never not had a Saturn hooked up to my TV. Even if I now prefer to play on the Mister core due to the controller options especially using the thrustmaster eswap controller with wheel module to play sega rally, manx tt and sega touring cars. It feels amazingly fresh again. I would love to join the online community but I wouldn't really know where to start, so I shall continue to live vicariously through the sega guys and enjoy watching you both play the online matches.

[@Mcsleeve]

My best memory from the Sega Saturn was getting Panzer Dragoon Saga for my 15th Birthday in 1998, which I still own to this day along with the demo disk that came with the Official Sega Saturn Magazine. Many years later, I obtained a Model 2 JPN Saturn and a bunch of games. Today, that JPN Saturn has a MODE fitted and I connect it to my PC monitor via the Retrotink 5x Pro. Oh on a final note, I think Sonic R is great as well.

[@costumeninja1914]

Sonic R is in my top ten Saturn games

[@marciopinho6100]

Starting a Sega Saturn video with the main menu music from Panzer Dragoon Saga will always make me goosebumps. It really takes me to another time... PDSaga is my personal GOAT.

[@HellTantrumbull]

Been playing Sega Saturn since 1996 and still enjoy it to this day. 👍

[@marciopinho6100]

Oh yes...me as well. 😊

[@liambyrne3488]

I can relate to your sentiments on so many levels Dan. My story was pretty much identical to yours regarding the Saturn. Sadly I sold mine in 2014 (a big regret) but watching videos like this keep those memories burning strong 🔥 💪🏻 thanks for sharing 👍🏻

[@LePensky77]

I love the passion on display here. And what's not to like? Saturn rocked - and still rocks!

[@ClockedIt]

Ah, we had quite similar Saturn lives based off this video. Great video Dan. Always love these passion projects on personal experiences with games. The Saturn always was and still is peak gaming greatness.

[@IcePakOG]

Thank you for sharing your Saturn experiences with us, Dan. My experiences were similar to yours , although I got my Saturn about 6 months after you and didn't get my Saturn modded until many years later. Like you, the Saturn has remained in my setup all these years and I'm still learning new things about it and love the resurgence it's having of late. Long live SEGA Saturn.

[@Pabloplays98]

What new things have you learnt recently?

[@IcePakOG]

@@Pabloplays98 the financial forecast statements of 97 and how it was SOA's unnecessary stockpiling of Mega Drives that tanked SEGA, all of the new translations of previously Japan-only games, conversions of PS1-only games, like Unreal, Metal Gear Solid, and Final Fantasy VII... things like that.

[@derekbuckler9888]

You showed last gladiator: digital pinball in that vid at the end. god i love that game, still the finest pinball game ever made in my opinion. Thanks for showing your dedication to a system that is my favorite of all time as well, it always will be.

[@CasperEgas]

Sadly, I was a little bit too young. If I would have been a few years older, I would have certainly bought one. I had the Master System 2, later the Mega Drive 1 until I was ready to upgrade in early 1998 (at age 13). Saturn was nowhere to be found where I live. I had missed the bus. The Nintendo 64 looked horrible, so I went for the PlayStation. It was okay, but I didn't really fall in love with it. My best friend bought a Dreamcast at launch. I was blown away! I immediately started saving and bought one in early 2000. I loved it. So I started longing for Saturn again. What did I miss? I traded my PlayStation with games with a Saturn with (less) games. That was a much better fit for me. Nowadays I got both a full set for Dreamcast and Saturn.

[@tomfum]

What a heart felt video Dan. Its true its a console I first owned back in 2006 and I played and loved it. I now own again and love the saturn even more and the community its has really helps to push that love. Long live the saturn #changethenarative

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks Tom, really appreciate the kind words mate. With all the discourse around its perceived performance I thought the best way we can show how special it is would be via our personal journeys with it - Dan

[@raymiecall]

I coveted a Saturn for years, even before it's release. When I got my first job in 96, the first pay packet went on a Saturn with Virtua Fighter and Daytona. Went home that Friday and barely moved from my seat until work on the Monday. The game deals were amazing then as the Saturn was struggling, so ended up with loads. My mate had the multitap and a bunch of us would sit in my dad's house playing Worldwide Soccer 98, Bomberman, Virtua Cop, Street Racer and Death Tank for hours on end. Great times. I hate Sonic R though!

[@MrThunderwing]

Nice retrospective Dan, the nostalgia's hitting me right in the feels. I've still got my Sega Flash vol 1 disc and I had the exact same reaction to you as Zwei.

[@Mike-bh4bh]

Can confirm Retailers promoting playstation and dissing the Saturn was definitely a thing.

[@pedronicolau9246]

In my town there were stores with panflets comparing consoles specs and of course the number were all wrong on the saturn for worse of course

[@aceassn716]

Yes I used to get mocked an laughed at when trying to buy a new Saturn game back then Electronics Boutique an Babbages hated Saturn By 97 it was hey trade it in for a PS1, me already have one and I dont care for 64 Now can I buy my game or go someplace else?

[@bundjohn]

Having just started going through the podcast archives I’ve heard about trying the PlayStation and then the Saturn. You have some great memories with it and I wish others got to experience the same as well!

[@slickshoesfan19]

Freaking Fantastic!!! Bloody Brilliant!!!

[@thegamelounge659]

Great video! Have thought about doing something similar myself if I get more popular 😂 I had exactly the same experience as you where i got a package from Comet with Sega Rally, VF2 and EURO 96. I was young at the time so for me I never questioned a Saturn over a PS and because I didn’t have access to a huge amount of mainstream media my experience was incredible.

[@TheRetroMartin]

Great story Dan. Brilliant console. Shame I couldn't get to one for a while so I was stuck with having only.played a small handful of games (but some of those were belters like Shining Force 3, Dark Saviour, the first two Panzer Dragoons etc) but I got there eventually and thankfully long before its resurgence!

[@MoonScythe1]

Sega Saturn is my all time favorite console. Flaws and all.

[@MisterBigMack]

Aw Dan - I absolutely bloody adored this video mate - when you was talking about playing it in a demo unit and saving your money up and buying it from comet - that resonated so much with me mate as I had my first Saturn experience in a demo unit in Disney world in Florida in Epcot, fell in love with it, came home and saved up my pocket money and bought my bundle from dixons in middle of 1997 bundled with sega rally, WWS97 and sega ages The passion in your voice, you can’t deny it mate, it’s special console for you, and for a lot of us as well James needs to make a video like this as well Well bloody done mate - really really enjoyed this Oh and that intro…….FUCK YES #changethenarrative

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks Andy! I recall you went through a similar journey, I only wish I could find the ad for my bundle like you managed to find yours a while back! - Dan

[@MisterBigMack]

@@SEGAGuys yeah I was very lucky that mine was in the issue 2 of Saturn power - maybe if yours isn’t it OSSM or Sega/Saturn power it may be in CVG or gamesmaster mags?

[@MisterBigMack]

Also Dan mate - random question - I’m not in the premium members list?

[@coffee84]

Great video about my favorite Sega console! Thank you 🙏

[@Steadysphere]

Could feel your passion through every pore of this video, honestly fantastic job Dan! So many classic titles just waiting to be explored :D

[@markstanley9176]

Love how personal this is. I can also recall the demo stands in argos. Great Times.

[@chrishowson2031]

What an awesome, heart felt vid Dan, great work! 👍

[@maroon9273]

I can remember seeing the saturn at toysrus in 96 and 3d controller at a family friend's place. I wish sega did a better job managing and marketing this system. A lot of people missed out what this system could've been. The suprise launch, lack of effort and sega neglection of helping developers. Also, abandoning its IPs from the master system, game gear, to the genesis. Plus, lack of sega ages series compilatation like systems 32, model 1, and previous boards.

[@jongeo]

Ooh, loving that new intro!

[@SEGAGuys]

Thanks, though it's not our new intro, but one tweaked for this specific topic - Dan

[@neilwebb7401]

I know the feeling to well and still play and collect for the machine sins 1997.

[@nathanrobinson718]

No one will tell me that the Saturn wasn’t best for shmups and 2D fighters. My faves! Plus sega exclusives. I loved and still love Saturn

[@NathanKelly-cc1bj]

Got myself the retro tink 4k finally! Has an incredible amount of pre set picture settings. Combine that with Retro Access scart cable. And you have perfection. Nice vid mate

[@sandman8920]

Well I’ve just purchased a brand new old crt.

[@maxgc6413]

@@sandman8920 Thanks for the update? Lol go away

[@sandman8920]

@@maxgc6413 tbf you could say the same thing to Nathan. Stop being nasty.

[@Sinn0100]

The very first consoles I purchased with my own money were the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn. I picked them both up on the same day, 9/9/95. I tried to get a Saturn at its launch, but I just couldn't find one. I was working a part-time job and traded in so many games just to make it happen, but I did it. I was such a huge Sega fan that I didn't even open my Playstation until after I had beaten Panzer Dragoon (the game I got with my Saturn). Despite how good Ridge Racer was, it didn't come close to Panzer Dragoon. I thought if Sega kept going at the high rate of quality Panzer Dragoon was they would be unstoppable. I was wrong...

[@flumphflumph6021]

I can't say every Saturn is brilliant (often a miracle of coding though) but it's honestly turning out to be one of my favourite consoles. In 2024! I had a rough start with the Saturn. First couldn't read discs and the only store that had games for it went under. The second one had rusted and suffered frequent crashes due to mod compatibility issues. Now in 2024, I'm now on my third one now. A Japanese model with a replacement power supply and region free chip. It runs like a dream but it can be a bit funny with PAL games because it can't drop down to 50hz. I'm finally getting to explore it's (Pricey) Library and yeah. It's something special.

[@SEGAGuys]

The library being “pricey” isn’t an argument anymore when it comes to experiencing the Saturn’s library though. We have so many ODE options out there, and while it may mean running games from an SD card and not physically owning them, you have to ask what matters more: owning a box and disc, or playing the game at all. If you haven’t looked into ODE options yet, definitely check them out.

[@matthewwonks2534]

I regret not buying a Saturn. There was a lot of peer pressure that I succumbed to, despite my affinity for Sega. While I don't regret getting an N64, I wish I could have also gone with my initial desire to purchase a Saturn.

[@michael-zg5fq]

I still remember my parents getting me a sega Saturn that came with Sega Rally, VF2 and Euro 96 and few days later got SF alpha and Thunder hawk 2, glad they waited a year so I ended up with the mk2 Saturn with better controllers

[@randomrc601]

Awesome mate

[@retroblitz3533]

Great video, couldn't agree more, I had one for xmas 95', funny how I had exactly the same experience at Comet! I'm assuming the staff would get a Sony kickback for every ps1 sold, I know that practice was taking place at some retailer's. It'd be good if some ex Comet staff could confirm. At the time, I couldn't understand why the lady in Comet was trying to convince me and my parents, I mean, why did she care! They were roughly the same price, all it served was trying to make me feel bad for wanting a Saturn!

[@stevereeves2140]

Nights into Dreams is a beautiful game!

[@nickbond6447]

Eerily similar story to my own! ❤

[@heilong79]

I had a PS but want to play those capcom arcade fighters in a better form so got a Saturn, I even bought games before I even had the system, so had Guardian Heroes, Xmen, Darius Gaiden which where mind blowing how hyper they felt. I then got a 2nd hand saturn with with 13 games and a steering wheel + 3d controller. What an amazing system.

[@Pytor007]

Love this vid!

[@fazares]

I just had a couple of friends that had a Sega Saturn...i enjoyed it somewhat...they owned about 4-5 games..but none of them were classics...no vf 1-2, fighters MM, Panzer Dragoon etc...best ones out of them were SF alpha 1 and sega ww soccer 97...lol....one of them ditched it in favour of a modded ps1..just a year and half later....i ve been revaluating the SS for more than a decade nowadays, with my japanese SS and more than 50 games in my collection...but i wont forget how shallow and lacking was the SS pal (and usa, probably) experience...it deserved better..we all know...

[@gamecomparisons]

I am still more prone to pick up games for Sega CD, 32X, and Saturn than anything later. So much innovation, or at least experimentation, went in to those games than anything after 2001 for sure. The Sony/Nintendo/Mainstream narrative that these devices made me hate Sega went far the opposite for me.

[@NathanKelly-cc1bj]

Just won some gems on eBay this week. Shinobi, Panzer Dragoon, Golden Axe :) Fav ones are Mega Man 8 and X4 Battle Garregga, Radient Silvergun. X Men vs street fighter. The Japanese library is superior. Suggest Pink Skeleton gaming for modding my good man. He will repair it if you have any issues in the future

[@atomiswave1971]

You didn't get 60fps from a PAL saturn, it was 50fps on PAL.

[@flumphflumph6021]

2:23 I agree. The "Dog Bone" controller is awful on the hands. Once the DuelShock came out, I blocked the "Dog Bone" right out of my memory . . . Then the PlayStation Classic came out many years later and disgusted me.

[@sandman8920]

I love sonic R

[@almeidachannel7121]

Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! And Love Retro Sega Games !

[@Canadian_Gamer]

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I had a Saturn on launch in North America. I was the laughing stock of the neighborhood as I played broken ports of Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter. Looking back on it the PS1 really did crush the Saturn (and N64), at least in North America. The quality of releases on the PS1 cannot be denied. The other issue with the Saturn was the terrible launch controller and build quality of the console (both later revised). These days, it’s tough for me to look back on the Saturn as I just didn’t have the greatest memories of it. Even the Virtua Racing port was atrocious.

[@SEGAGuys]

The build quality of the console? Thats one thing the Saturn has never had an issue with, they’re extremely well built. The Mk1 is an absolute tank of a console, many are still operational almost 30 years later. In fact, mine is one of the first 5,000 UK units going by the serial number. The controller, yeah I’ve no idea why SEGA decided to change the Japanese Mk 1 console controller to what we got, but thankfully with the Mk2 console they gave us a black version of the Japanese Mk 1 controller. You said were the laughing stock of your neighbourhood playing VF1 and Daytona at launch … in May 1995, a full 4 months before PlayStation had hit shelves and anyone had seen one in the flesh, let alone played it? Anyone with a Mega Drive or SNES would have been impressed at those two games at that point in time, even with their flaws. The Virtua Racing port is poor, but that’s because Time Warner were given zero source code and had to recreate the game from memory after sessions on the only thing SEGA provided them; a VR arcade machine. It’s got more game modes, but the handling is nothing like the arcade original. So yeah, can’t argue with you on that one.

[@Canadian_Gamer]

@@SEGAGuys So, the thing is… at the time of the Saturn launch in North America, the snes was still red hot (1994 and 1995 were chalked full of bangers on the console). In my neighbourhood to be honest, most kids had the N64, I was the only one within a 50 kilometre radius that had Saturn. I had the Sega steering wheel too, wasn’t a fan of it.

[@derekbuckler9888]

It's always been a success to me, especially when the game magazines would give lower scores to certain "games" like SFA3. Frankly Sony should have lost the 32 bit war, and unfortunately I followed that crowd. Not anymore I don't, and Sony's true colors are certainly showing now. As I refuse to buy a any modern console beyond the PS4

[@robert5235]

When I went to kay-B Toys they didn't have a Sega Saturn. Because they didn't stock it. So I it was PlayStation or nothing. I didn't get a Saturn until 2024.

[@plazma2891]

only a few thing and Sega would have been right next to the play station. i will be fair and give them the blunder of Sega CD 1. no 32X (all that resources could have went to Saturn) 2. a awesome sonic game needed to be in the box as a pack in title 3. Keep the intended release date i know a lot of people and kids would have picked up the sega with a pack in sonic game over the ps1 launch titles and they would build up a nice install base in my opinion. 4. the controller need to have at least one analog ( and definitely all one more around the time Sony did) 5. a few more exclusive games like were was streets of rage its just my opinion and what i think i know this is already been said i just relay wish they made it with the Sony and were both as popular

[@G.G.___162]

[@earlusmcdivett]

The Sega Saturn completely sucked. Trying to hype up this system is laughable. It was way overpriced at launch, oversized and bulky and nothing, compared to PS1 and especially the N64.

[@VideoWare-ox9qv]

As Saturn hype is laughable, Saturn hate is also. Just two extremes, the console has loads of fun. Also the console is robust and feels premium, just had too complicated architecture.

[@Robin-ie3ns]

I play the Saturn a lot and would say 3D games do suck. But 2D it’s incredible…the best Shmup library of any console, incredible fighting games and some arcade ports that are better than Mame (Out Run, Afterburner etc)

[@SEGAGuys]

@@Robin-ie3ns I wouldn’t say the 3D games on Saturn “sucked”, and we’ve got a 2 part video right here on the channel showing the best of Saturn’s 3D titles.

[@SEGAGuys]

The point isn’t to “hype up this system”, the video celebrates Dan’s journey and experience with the console. Your view on its history, its sales numbers, its games, or how it fared against PS1 and N64 are totally irrelevant and out of context. This video is a passion project about someone’s own experience with the system and games. Nothing you say can change how he felt and the enjoyment he had, and still has, from the console. Go and hate elsewhere, mate.

[@pedronicolau9246]

Was saturn really overpriced compared to the plastation? Saturn had a game packeted in, rgb cable and also internal memory. Playstation came only with a demo and rf cable, so to actually enjoy playstation you had also to buy a game a memory card and a cable to have good picture quality.

[@G.G.___162]

Absolutely fantastic video man!!